Honam University Selected for Ministry of Education's 'Vocational Education Innovation Zone' Contest Project

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Cho Hyung-joo] Honam University (President Park Sang-chul) announced on the 3rd that it has been finally selected for the Ministry of Education's public project, the Vocational High School-Regional Collaboration Based 'Vocational Education Innovation Zone Project,' jointly submitted with Gwangju Metropolitan City and Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education.

The 'Vocational Education Innovation Zone Project' is a new vocational education support system in which regional vocational high schools, local companies, and universities participate to operate innovative zone curricula, led by Gwangju City and the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education to nurture high school graduate talents who will lead the development of regional strategic industries.

The strategic industry field selected for Honam University is the regionally specialized industry of the 'Future Mobility Industry Sector,' and it plans to discover and support various career and pathway models for vocational high school students in cooperation with industries.

Support measures for the growth paths of vocational high school talents include employment support after completing customized education programs for companies related to key regional sectors, employment before further study, operation of contract departments combining work and study, and establishment of early employment-type contract departments where students complete credits and then get employed by contracted industries.

The first-year project period runs from March 2022 to February 2023, and if selected as an excellent zone based on performance evaluation results, the project can continue for up to three years.

This year's project budget is 1 billion KRW supported by the Ministry of Education, and from next year, it will be operated with a total budget of 5.6 billion KRW over three years, securing 1 billion KRW from the Ministry of Education, 500 million KRW each from Gwangju City and the Metropolitan Office of Education, and 600 million KRW sponsorship from KEPCO KPS.

Lee Jung-hwan, head of the Department of Future Automotive Engineering, said, "Through the selection for the 'Vocational Education Innovation Zone Project,' we will do our best to nurture technical personnel who will lead the future automotive industry needed by major automobile companies (KIA Motors, Gwangju Global Motors) and related local cooperative companies in Gwangju Metropolitan City’s core automotive industry, as well as support their employment and settlement."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.